3-D Bioprinting of Innervated Skeletal Muscle Tissue for Accelerated Restoration of Muscle Function

Introduction Recent advances in muscle tissue engineering present a promising solution to achieve functional recovery of volumetric skeletal muscle defects. 1,2 Rapid progress has been made in the development of a bioengineered muscle tissue by combining cells and biomaterials. While the classical tissue engineering approach involving the cellseeded scaffolds produces muscle tissues in vivo, building a clinically applicable muscle constructs with necessary tissue organization appears to be inadequate. To achieve functional recovery in vivo, bioengineered muscle tissues must be integrated with the host nervous system (innervation) following implantation. Failure of innervation results in muscle tissue atrophy. Therefore, timely integration of host nerve into bioengineered muscle tissue is critical to successful recovery of function. In this study we aimed to develop organized muscle tissue constructs with neuromuscular junction in vitro and to test innervation efficiency of the muscle construct using an ectopic implantation model.